Effect of Eliminating Routine Gastric Residual Volume Monitoring on Ventilator-associated Events in Patients Receiving Enteral Feeding

Background: Eliminating routine gastric residual volume (GRV) monitoring had several debates surrounding the necessity of monitoring gastric residual volume in nursing care of enteral nutrition and its effect on the occurrence of ventilator-associated events. This study aims to investigate the effect of eliminating routine GRV monitoring on VAEs in patients receiving mechanical ventilation and early enteral feeding. Research design: A single-blinded randomized control. Subjects: About 160 patients were randomly assigned to one of two groups in a 1:1 ratio. Tools: One tool was a ventilator-associated Events Observation Record. Results: The control group had a higher incidence of VAEs than the intervention group with no significance between studied groups regarding the incidence of VAC (p=0.144,), IVAC (P=0.335), and PVAP(p=0.719). Conclusion: The intervention group receiving eliminating routine GRV monitoring had lower occurrences of VAE, VAC, IVAC, and PVAP compared to the control group. As a result, routine GRV monitoring, which is an important component of the VAP prevention bundle, is not suggested for critically ill patients. Recommendations: Eliminating routine GRV monitoring may be had advantage for patients decreasing the possibility for VAEs and decreasing nursing workload for nurses. Give critical care nurses (CCNs) training and educational opportunities on the most recent recommendations regarding the advantages of eliminating GRV monitoring.